When Elin Nordegren divorced golf superstar Tiger Woods in 2010, it shocked the public. Not many people knew Elin before reading in the tabloids about her husband’s jaw-dropping infidelity and notorious divorce that followed. A former model who became a mental health counselor, Elin bounced back post-divorce and is now a mother of six.
In Tiger’s 2017 memoir, he explained how he and Elin were very in love but that his betrayal and “dishonesty and selfishness caused her intense pain.” He said he would always have regrets, but Elin has long moved on and has a beautiful life. Here’s everything about the transformation of this Swedish beauty.
She has an identical twin that she grew up with
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, on January 1, 1980, Elin greeted the world alongside her twin sister, Josefin Nordegren. Their parents made sure to help them carve out their own identities with different clothes and had them attend different classes. The sisters also had a brother who was just over a year older than the twins. The family would often road trip around Europe, but sadly, their parents divorced when Elin was seven. The split was amicable, and the former couple shared custody, but Elin’s dad moved to Germany.
Elin was modeling when she met Tiger Woods
Elin Nordegren started modeling as a teenager, but she never saw herself as a model. In an interview with People, she said that she “didn’t intend to pursue it” and that while the moniker was flattering, she didn’t believe just a few photoshoots as a teen would be enough to make her a model. Along with modeling, she was a nanny for Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik’s family. Parvenik made the intro to colleague Tiger Woods in 2001, and the rest was history. He locked her down quickly, and they married in Barbados in 2004 and had a daughter and a son a few years later.
Their divorce was very public
Getting divorced publicly is one of the most cringe-worthy things that can happen to you—especially when cheating is involved. Less than a year after they had their son Charlie Axel Woods in 2009, the cheating scandal dominated the news cycle. It was reported (with receipts) that Woods had affairs with many, many women throughout the couple’s five-year marriage. He admitted to it all in 2010, telling ESPN that he was “unfaithful” and his actions were “not acceptable.”
Elin, on the other hand, said she had “been through hell” after living a lie for so many years. In the divorce, she got $100 million, and much of the public was rooting for her. The money allows her to live comfortably and support her children.
